ECONOTES 2010-08-31: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region

Featured

1. Trinity River Refuge Hunt Opportunities (Laurie Lomas – Friends of Trinity River Refuge News)
   There is a new application procedure for the 2010 Archery Only hunt and Upland Game hunt on the Trinity River National Refuge website. New regulations are described in the application process.
   http://fotrr.com/
2. Councilman: Dredging bayou could improve water (Chris Paschenko – The Galveston County Daily News)
   Recently the bayou has continually shown bacteria levels that exceed clean water standards. This happens 90% of the time tests are performed. Louis Decker, a city councilman, believes that dredging the bayou would help the situation. The tidal movement would help alleviate the problem.
   http://galvestondailynews.com/story/170098/
3. Record heat may be our new normal (Eric Berger – Houston Chronicle)
   According to climate projections, temperatures 4 to 5 degrees above  the present normal will be a typical summer. Weather events are likely to be more more prevalent in the warmer temperatures. The increase can be seen all over the world, not just Houston. People may need to adapt to the warmer climate.
   http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7177184.html

EcoNotes

• 31 August
  • Galveston begins series of Ike recovery neighborhood meetings (David Pitman – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1283287352
  • Reid touts clean energy and says the Senate could (still) pass a Renewable Electricity Standard (Barbara Kessler – AVC13 News)
    http://www.greenrightnow.com/ktrk/2010/08/31/reid-touts-clean-energy-and-says-the-senate-could-still-pass-a-renewable-electricity-standard/
  • Gas exploration in city parks (Laurie Johnson – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1283288884
  • EPA disapproves components of TCEQ’s air permitting program (EPA News)
    http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/91f7018c5ca54bf185257790006d8803?OpenDocument
• 30 August
  • Record heat may be our new normal (Eric Berger – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7177184.html
  • $2 million dollars earmarked for improvements to Historic Sam Houston Park – Guidry News)
    http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000029065
  • Safer roads in Texas (Montgomery County News)
    http://www.montgomerycountynews.net/index.php?module=article&view=1395
• 29 August
  • Deforestation, sprawl increase runoff (Jon Boyd – Houston Tomorrow)
    http://www.houstontomorrow.org/livability/story/deforestation-and-sprawl-increase-runoff/?utm_source=Houston+Tomorrow+Growth+News&utm_campaign=46e85b73a2-Houston_Tomorrow_Livability_News_083010&utm_medium=email
• 28 August
  • TPC struggles with 2035 RTP (Jon Boyd – Houston Tomorrow)
    http://www.houstontomorrow.org/livability/story/tpc-approves-to-study-the-baseline-scenario/?utm_source=Houston+Tomorrow+Growth+News&utm_campaign=46e85b73a2-Houston_Tomorrow_Livability_News_083010&utm_medium=email
• 27 August
  • Proposed changes to air quality permits announced (TCEQ News)
    http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/comm_exec/communication/media/08-10AirMeeting8-27
  • EPA takes over cleanup of abandoned NW Houston plant (Houston Business Journal)
    http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2010/08/23/daily34.html
  • U.S. urged to ensure deepwater drilling safety (Ayesha Rascoe – Planet Ark News)
    http://planetark.org/wen/59319
  • TCEQ says EPA fine with air monitor data from DISH (Barnett Shale News)
    http://blogs.star-telegram.com/barnett_shale/2010/08/tceq-says-epa-fine-with-air-monitor-data-from-dish-.html
• 26 August
  • EPA considers coal ash regulations (Laurie Johnson – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1282858002
  • Old plant gets EPA clean-up (Wendy Siegle – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1282859468
  • Oil spill hearing continues in Houston (Bill Stamps – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1282863438
  • $2 million dollars earmarked for improvementsto Historic Sam Houston Park (The City of Houston News)
    http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/pdfs/2010/HPARDSamHoustonParkGrantAnnouncement.pdf
• 25 August
  • TCEQ approves fine totaling $1,798,745 (TCEQ News)
    http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/comm_exec/communication/media/08-10Agenda8-25
  • Senator Patrick concerned about hurricane preparedness (Guidry News)
    http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000028977
  • Safer roads contribute to significant drop in highway fatalities (Guidry News)
    http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000028978
• 24 August
  • Texas Medical Center gets its own on-site power facility (Houston Business Journal)
    http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2010/08/23/daily18.html
  • Job losses over drilling ban fail to materialize (John M. Broder and Clifford Krauss – The New York Times)
    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/us/25drill.html?hp
• 23 August
  • Certain rigs could see ban lifted early (Jennifer A. Dlouhy – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7168460.html
• 20 August
  • Councilman: Dredging bayou could improve water (Chris Paschenko – The Galveston County Daily News)
    http://galvestondailynews.com/story/170098/
• 17 August
  • Trinity River Refuge Hunt Opportunities (Laurie Lomas – Friends of Trinity River Refuge News)
    http://fotrr.com/
• July 27
  • Urban gardening experiment blossoms in Houston (Monica Rhor – ABC News)
    http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wirestory?id=11260877&page=1